Industry Pulse: a failed water test cancelled surgeries at a children's hospital

Industry Pulse

A children's hospital in Tacoma cancelled surgeries this month — not because of staffing, not because of supplies, but because the water in its sterile processing department failed a routine quality test. If you've ever wondered whether the boring checks matter, that's your answer.

Mary Bridge water system failure — what happened

MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital (Tacoma, WA) pulled every instrument tray from circulation after routine monitoring found its high-purity water system fell short of federal standards for final rinse water. The hospital confirmed the correction "has slowed the overall sterile processing time, causing some delays in instrument availability" and temporarily limited daily surgical cases. Trays were reprocessed at Tacoma General.

Why it matters: routine monitoring caught this before a single contaminated instrument reached a child.

Minnesota's certification mandate — on the clock

Minnesota law now requires central service technicians to earn certification within two years of hire, effective January 1, 2028. Accepted credentials include CRCST, CER, CSPDT, and CFER. Minnesota joins a growing list of states moving certification from "preferred" to required.

What AORN 2026 said about endoscope reprocessing

Experts at AORN 2026 pressed on three recurring gaps: point-of-use pre-cleaning, thorough visual inspection, and borescope use for channels the eye cannot reach. The AORN Journal published companion guidance on borescopes in routine inspection.

IFU spotlight: ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 — Water for processing medical devices

This is the first national standard defining water quality for medical device reprocessing — and it directly connects to the Mary Bridge story. ST108 establishes three categories of water quality (utility, steam, and critical) and lays out the testing and monitoring your department should already have in place.

Published 2023, it replaces the older TIR34 guidance. If your facility hasn't audited its water quality against ST108 yet, this is your sign.

Build your plan with ATS

Originally sent as a PDF — view the original.